Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with europe and career

How to expat myself and my family?

gm2007 — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:06:51 -0800

I'm 35, an attorney, and married with 3 children, and want to move myself and my family to Europe (preferably Germany) for the experience. My preference is to work for the U.S. Government overseas, as that seems the easiest transition, but positions are not easy to come by. Any ideas?

Back to school, for a different career... in Europe

janek — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:31:09 -0800

After one year of getting BSc and working in the field, I'd like to switch careers and re-locate from Canada. Are there any schools in Europe that would take in foreign students interested in cartography? I have been working as a web developer since 17, I am now 25. I am sick of web development and had epiphanies after epiphanies about doing other things with my life, especially now that I'm quarter-century old. (Quickie background info) I figure map-making is one area I can go into... (others are marine navigation, electrician, librarian technician). I do have familial obligations so I'm sticking with the more "stable" career choices.

I really yearn to live in Europe, doesn't matter which country exactly. I have beginners background in Swedish, Dutch when I visited the country, and French from highschool. There's also Japanese that I taught myself on and off since highschool 6 years ago. Basically I know I'm going to be a keen learner and adapt once plopped into something (as with rugby and dragonboating).

Are there such schools with a program in cartography (or its parent, geography) for someone like me? I don't care if it's a trades school, undergraduate, or masters... as long as what I learn will earn proper income and in the process, be in a totally different culture from the one I spent my formulative years in.

(And yes, I do like maps.)

How can two Seattle residents best go about looking for jobs in London?

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:46:37 -0800

How can two Seattle residents best go about looking for jobs in London? My wife and I have been talking about moving to London for a while. Ideally, we'd like to both find jobs in London, live there for 2-3 years, then move back to the U.S.

We would like to have jobs and be living in London 1 year from today. We love Seattle... we just want an adventure before we have a baby.

- What has been your experience with finding (or not finding) a job in London?
- What should we expect with regard to potential time lines, snags, red tape, and pitfalls?
- What tools to job searching/networking have you found useful?
- What government agencies/government connections did you use in your quest? (i.e. if your Senator/Congressman was a good friend, could he/she help speed things along, side-step hang-up, and/or
- We want to live in London... not a 1-hour Tube ride from Central London.
- What have I not asked that I need to know?

Our employment backgrounds:
She is 26, I am 28. My background is business (primarily sales & marketing) and I've been fairly successful, despite my age. Her background is architecture, though she's looking to switch her focus to humanitarian efforts. Potentially working with organizations as a project manager for different efforts.

Our current combined income: $105,000/year (pre-tax)

Lookout Europe, here I come

barrakuda — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:20:01 -0800

What are some good job search websites/engines for Europe? I'm interested in jobs in international affairs, public relations, business and finance, advertising and marketing. I'm mostly looking for resources for Germany, Belgium, France and the UK, but pan-European websites are good too.

How to move to Europe and find employment?

barrakuda — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:41:15 -0800

I decided to move back to Europe, however I will need a job. I have about 3 years of work experience (all of which in the US) and have no idea what the job market looks like in Europe. About me: MA in int'l relations (BA in econ and int'l relations) - both degrees from American universities - the MA from a quite reputable one; 3 years of work experience at an international organization; speak 4 languages fluently; EU membership.

My vague plan: to move to Europe, considering the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland. Catch - I am not sure if I would want to continue working in International Development - my possible interests include investment banking, marketing/advertising, journalism.

Specific questions:
- Can you recommend good European Job Search engines?
- Can you recommend any particular companies?
- Can you recommend any interesting careers (that are possible for me to get into without further studies)?
- Can you tell me about job search culture in Europe? How is it done? Here in the US it's all in 'networking'?
- Can you recommend any other particular countries? Why?
- Can you tell me where to start?
- Any additional advice for jobhunting and applying for jobs in Europe?

What do I do now?

FlamingBore — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:53:02 -0800

So that job? Yea, didn't work out. Now what? So the recruiter called to deliver bad news yesterday. They canceled the interview due to a shift in priorities. She says that we *absolutely* should stay in touch because the company is still very interested, but feel the need to put resources elsewhere for the next five-ish months.

While it's a let down, certainly, I'd already begun to think about what I would do if I didn't get it. And I came up with the notion of quitting my job, selling my car and many of my possessions. Storing the rest and traveling abroad.

Would that be career suicide? I'm thinking a 2-3 month tour, if not more. I'm thinking Europe, both eastern and western.

After quitting and getting paid out for vacation, a pending bonus that comes in two weeks, selling the car and various other items I imagine I'll have about $8k that I could use on this and I'd put away about $6k as a landing pad for when I return. Insane? Eurail Pass - good idea? I've enough miles to get to Europe free on a Delta SkiMiles award ticket so that's covered.

I'm 36, single, jane of all trade-ish. Never done anything like this before in terms of "dropping out" and feel that a) this might be my last chance and b) I'm both scared and excited by the idea.

Bonus Q: Are there US companies for whom I could do some freelance work while abroad? Writing, editing, scoring? Something portable? I'm probably going to travel with very few clothes, my small laptop and my camera.

Please feel free to poke holes in this idea or make suggestions to improve upon it.

Quasi-entry level jobs for professionals making a career change?

BigBrownBear — Wed, 17 May 2006 09:56:31 -0800

I'm looking for companies that offer quasi-entry level jobs for professionals making a career change. I have three years of experience in law firms, but I'm looking to move out of law (this is because I now live in Europe and the system is very different). I'm looking for European companies that offer entry-level type training programs for employees with under 5 years of experience. I've found some good international companies that offer these but I'm looking for more suggestions.

I hope you guys can lend me a hand here with the brainstorming. I don't mean to turn this into a discussion about my life decisions and career direction...just looking for companies offering these sorts of quasi-entry level training programs for young professionals with a bit of experience.

(FYI - I'm trying to sell myself as a project manager, as that is basically the best non-legal approximation of my experience).

Finding a European IT job

skallas — Fri, 04 Feb 2005 00:59:58 -0800

How can I find an IT job in Europe? I have dual-citizenship, one for the US and another for Greece, but I've only been to the motherland a handful of times. What are some first steps just to get job listings? Does the fact that Greece is an EU member state give me advantages in applying for jobs in other EU member states? Should I expect a hard time because I'm also a US citizen?